1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic systems for performing automated tests of complex electronic, electromechanical and mechanical equipment and products. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic test system with a tree structure for summarizing the results of the test.
2. Statement of the Problem
Test systems are used to check the status and performance of complex electronic, electromechanical and mechanical products and equipment. Such tests can include validation tests which run through the various operations that the device under test (DUT) is capable of and records whether each operation was performed properly; environmental tests which expose the DUT to various combinations of temperature, pressure, and humidity, and records the results; production tests, etc. Generally, both the DUT and the systems providing the environmental and other constraints on the DUT are controlled electronically. In the last decade or so, computerized programs which are capable of controlling a variety of automated tests, referred to in the art as “test executive” programs, have been developed.
Tests usually are defined by a set of rules or specifications to which the DUT is compared. The rules or specifications generally comprise various inputs defined by electrical and mechanical parameters applied to the DUT, such as voltage, current, specified manipulations of controls and device parts, as well as environmental parameters under which the test is conducted, such as temperature, humidity, pressure, and the time period over which a parameter is applied. Each test will include many combinations of the parameters applied to each element of the DUT, and often will be repeated many times. Thus, as equipment and products become more complex, electronic test programs have become very long and complex, often requiring several days, or even a week or more to run a complete test.
Test executive programs in the prior art include internal test executive programs developed by Agilent Technologies and TESTSTAND software developed by National Instruments Corporation, which is described as a ready-to-run test executive for organizing, controlling, and executing automated prototype, validation, or production test systems. The prior art Agilent Technologies programs did not use a graphical user interface, and thus it was usually tedious to examine the complete results of a test. The TESTSTAND software showed the results in a spreadsheet structure that was not easy to analyze. The prior art software at best was limited to showing the results of a given measurement by colored text such as “passed” in blue color, “skipped” in yellow color and “failed” in red color. Therefore, it takes significant time to scan textual results to determine what further action is needed. When a test fails, it is usually necessary to examine the details of the test further to find the source of the failure before taking further action. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to have a test executive system in which test results are more easily selected and analyzed.